The invention relates to a toy building set comprising at least one toy building element with a body part provided with coupling means for interconnecting with other toy building elements, and a vehicle with a body that is provided with coupling means for interconnecting with other toy building elements, said vehicle being provided with at least one wheel that is journalled on a shaft and that extends downwards from the vehicle body for abutment on a drive face.
Today there are many toy building sets of this type on the market that comprise toy building elements and vehicles that can be interconnected to form various structures. The vehicles are configured either as actual vehiclesxe2x80x94cars, trucks, trains, etc.xe2x80x94or merely as a carriage bottom with wheels; in all cases they are provided with coupling means for interconnecting with other toy building elements. Typically the coupling means consist of coupling studs on the top faces of the toy building element as well as on the vehicles, and coupling means that are complementary therewith on the underside of the toy building elements and optionally of the vehicles.
In the prior art toy building sets of this type the vehicles are provided with circular wheels that are each concentrically journalled on a shaft such that, to a very wide extent, the vehicles resemble xe2x80x9cauthenticxe2x80x9d vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,583 discloses a toy element that simulates a caterpillar or a worm. The toy building element is split and each of the two parts is provided with circular wheels. In the junction between the two parts a thorough-going shaft is provided on which two elliptical wheels are excentrically journalled. When the toy element travels across a plane drive face, the elliptical wheels will cause the junction to move up and down and it thus seems as if the toy element wiggles its way across the drive face.
GB-A-2 249 735 teaches a toy car wherein the front wheels are mounted on an excentrically journalled shaft. Therefore the toy car exhibits a tilting movement when it travels across a drive face.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a toy building set comprising a vehicle that exhibits particular driving features and that will, in combination with the remaining toy building elements in the toy building set, provide the user with completely novel and educating play experiences.
This is obtained by configuring the toy building set described above such that at least the one wheel has a rolling face with varying distances from the shaft on which it is journalled such that a waving movement of the vehicle is obtained when it travels across a plane drive face.
Hereby it is obtained that, apart from the option of constructing different structures by means of the remaining toy building elements on the vehicle, the vehicle also exhibits a tilting drive movement wherein the stability of the vehicle depends on the structure or construction made on the vehicle. It is thus possible to build a low structure by which the point of gravity of the entire vehicle is not raised or just raised slightly, such that it does not substantially influence the behavior of the vehicle. If, on the contrary, a high or heavy structure is built, the point of gravity is raised with ensuing considerable influence on the behavior of the vehicle.
With a toy building set according to the invention, the user is thus able to test the influence of differently constructed structures on the behavior of the vehicle; e.g., how high a structure can be built before the vehicle topples. Thus the toy building set according to the invention enables the user to have novel and educating play experiences.
According to a preferred embodiment the vehicle is provided with two wheels with varying distances from the shaft on which they are journalled to their respective roller faces, and the vehicle leans on the drive face with two of its wheels and with a support knob provided downwardly protruding from the vehicle body at a distance from the two wheels. Despite its simplicityxe2x80x94this construction yields a particularly interesting movement of the vehicle when it drives across a drive face.
Preferably, the wheels have a circular rolling face while simultaneously they are excentrically journalled on their respective axes. This is the most simple configuration of the wheels and additionally it imparts a very harmonious and regular movement pattern to the vehicle when it drives across a drive face.
Preferably, the coupling means of the toy building set consists of coupling studs that protrude from the body parts of the toy building elements and the vehicle body, respectively, and coupling means that are complementary therewith provided to be upwardly protruding at least in the body part of the toy building elements. Hereby it is possible to make the toy building set according to the invention complementary with existing toy building sets.
If a loose fitting is used between the coupling studs and the coupling means that are complementary therewith, it is possible to obtain very special effects when a vehicle provided with other toy building elements tiltingly travels across a drive face. As it is, the stacked toy building elements will constitute an instable construction that present the option of performing detours due to the movements of the vehicle. In order to further enhance the play experience, a drive means can be arranged within the vehicle body for advancing the vehicle, said drive means being in communication with a shaft on which a wheel is mounted. According to a particularly preferred embodiment the drive means is configured with a winding-up mechanism.